Bold headline: Predators shake up their forward corps, trading McCarron to the Wild and Smith to the Golden Knights.
The Nashville Predators shipped Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. McCarron, 30, is a power forward who has posted 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 59 games this season. He also led Nashville with 165 hits, ranked second in face-offs taken (811), third in blocked shots (60), sixth in takeaways (17), and led all Predators forwards in short-handed ice time per game (2:29).
Wild general manager Bill Guerin highlighted McCarron’s contributions, including his face-off ability and penalty-killing presence. “He brings a lot, and face-offs are one element of his game that we really like,” Guerin said. “Coach John Hynes has worked with him before, so there’s some comfort there with the coach and the player, which I think is good. Face-offs are something we’ve been looking to improve, and I think Mike has the ability to be a really good face-off guy, and on the penalty kill, too. And the right shot on the off side—having a right-handed player is important as well.”
McCarron is entering the final season of a two-year, $1.8 million contract ($900,000 AAV) he signed with Nashville on February 16, 2024. Drafted 25th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, he has accumulated 74 points (33 goals, 41 assists) in 361 regular-season games for Montreal and Nashville. He has yet to register a postseason point in nine playoff games.
The Wild (35-16-10) sit third in the Central Division, three points behind the Dallas Stars and nine behind the Colorado Avalanche.
Guerin added, “It’s nice to have. A bigger body, heavier guy (6-foot-6, 232 pounds), but he gets around the ice. He’s a strong penalty killer, and he’s very competitive, which is attractive. So there are a lot of elements to his game that we like.”
Earlier on Monday, Nashville completed another trade, sending forward Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenseman prospect Christoffer Sedoff and a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
Smith, 30, has recorded 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 42 games this season. He also ranked second on the Predators in hits (119) and was fourth in short-handed time on ice per game (2:16). Signed to Nashville on January 24, 2024, he is in the final season of a two-year, $2 million contract ($1 million AAV).
Since joining the Predators as an undrafted free agent on March 19, 2020, Smith has totaled 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) in 270 regular-season games and has no playoff points in five appearances.
Sedoff, 24, has four assists in 38 games with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL this season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Vegas as an undrafted free agent on March 2, 2023.
Vegas (28-19-14) currently leads the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, after a recent rough patch. Nashville (27-26-8) sits five points behind the Seattle Kraken for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report.
